Portable demonstration and display device



Nov. 30, 1954 F. w, ALLEN 2,695,706

PORTABLE DEMONSTRATION AND DISPLAY DEVICE Filed April 20, l950' 2 Sheets-Sheet l K /V (/////Y/ I Ill/II fkAM/J/lfM MJ 50km BY M7,} 5 pa,

ATTORNEY Nov. 30, 1954 F. w. a. ALLEN PORTABLE DEMONSTRATION AND DISPLAY DEVICE Filed April 20, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent '0 PORTABLE DEMONSTRATION AND DISPLAY DEVICE Francis :W. B. Allen, Scarsdale, N. Y., assignor to "Johns- ManvilleCorporation, New York, N. Y., a corpora- -tion of'New York Application April20, 1950, SerialNo. 157,043

Claims. (Cl. 206-82) The instant inventionrelates to a portable demonstration and display deviceor-package for articles such as roofing and siding shingles and, more particularly, -to a deviceof this 'kind which will support shingle elements in overlapping relationship in simulation of a shingled structure.

:A principal object of the invention is the provision ofanimproved portable device of this type which can be readily .and economically formed from a blank ,of sheet material.

Another object of the invention is the provision of adisplay device comprising a backing member having upper and lower areas receivingshingle-elements to be displayedin overlappingrelationship in simulation of a shingled structure, the .backingmember supporting the shingleelements substantially throughout their areas.

.Another object of theinventionqis the provision of a display device foldable LfI'OITl a single blank of sheet material, the device including a backing member having lower .and upper areas separated by a shoulder of a height substantiallyequal to the thickness of a shingle element and having a contour similar to that of the upper edge of the shingle element received on the lower area. The devicealsoincludes an integral flap to cover theflPPeredge of the shingle on the upper area to provide aneat, finishedappearance. A portion of the backing member extends past the flap and is provided with a hand grip whereby the device may be readily carried.

My invention will be -more-fully understood and further objects and. advantages will become. apparent when reference is madeto thernore detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is to:fol1ow, andto the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is av plan view, withparts broken awayfor clearness of illustration, of a demonstration and display device in accordance with the instant invention;

Fig. 2is asectional view, on an enlarged scale,'taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail, sectional view on a -further enlarged scale, of the right end of the construction shown in Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is aperspective view illustrating the blank from which the device is made,,in a partiallyfolded condition;

Fig. 5 is a perspective-view of the device with the shingle elements to be displayed "partially assembled thereon;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the blank from which the device is folded; and,

Fig. 7 is a perspective View illustrating a modification of the device.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a display and demonstration device which is readily portable and which can be carried from place to place and supported in display position by resting it against a wall or other support, or by laying it on a flat surface, such as a table. The device as shown has been particularly designed for demonstrating shingle elements made of a compressed asbestos-cement composition. These shingles, while strong, are relatively frangible, and it is important that the display and demonstration device support them substantially throughout their areas to prevent injury to the shingles during handling and use of the device. Furthermore, the shingles must be firmly adhered against slipping or rattling. Although specifically designed for such shingles, it will be appreciated that the device may be used with shingles of other types.

The device, indicated generally at 10, consists of a backing member 12 supporting shingle elements 14 and 2,695,706 Patented Nov. 30, 1954 16. The backing member is preferably made from a single blank of relatively heavy material, such as aheavy cardboard. or corrugated board faced on both sides with plain sheets, although other materials may be used if desired. The specific manner of forming the device from the blank will be more fully explained later. The backing member includes a lower area 18 and an upper area 20 lying in a plane elevated from that of the lower area, the two areas being separated by a shoulder 22. Suitably, as shown, to give the device the required strength and resistance against distortion and bending, it is made of multiple thicknesses of the sheet material, the lower area being of two thicknesses and the upper area of four. Also, the thickness of the sheet material is selected so that shoulder 22 has a height approximately equal to the thickness of the shingleelement 14 supported on thelower area 18. The shingle elements are preferably adhesively secured in their respective positions, suitably throughout, or substantially throughout, the entire areas 13 and 20. However they may be stapled or otherwise secured if desired.

Shoulder 22 has a contour similar to that of the upper edge of the shingle element 14 on the lower area 18. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 16 inclusive, shingle element 14 is of the pointed-head type and, hence, shoulder 22 has a similar pointed contour, except that the slanting edges of the shoulder terminate at points spaced inwardly from the ends of the backing member to leave connecting folds 24 between the two laminations.

An integral flap 26 is folded over the top edge of shingle element 16 to provide a neat, finished appearance. The backing member also preferably extends past the flap to provide extension 28 which accommodates a suitable hand grip, defined in the embodiment shown as an opening 30 through which the fingers of thehand may be inserted. Other types of hand grips may, of course, be used.

In practice the several laminations or layers making up the backing member are adhered together by a suitable adhesiveor glue, the glue lines being indicated at 32, '34 and 36, andthe shingle elements l4 and 1 6are adhesively secured to the lower and upper areas, respectively, .as previously pointed out, the glue lines being indicated at 38 and 40. Flap 26,1folded over the upper edge of the upper shingle element, is adhered to the shingle element as indicated by glue line 42.

In the embodiment of Figs. 1-6, the lower shingle element 14 is preferably a full-sized shingle of the-pointedhead type. It will be appreciated, however, that other arrangements may be used. For example, as illustrated element of such width that its lower margin overlaps the lower element 14- to the same extent that shingles are overlapped in practice, so that the completed display will give the appearance of two partial courses of shingles laid in conventional overlapping relationship.

Referring now specifically to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the

manner-in which the device is cut and folded from a single blank of material and the shingle: elements are applied, will be described. A previously mentioned, the device is made from a suitable heavy cardboard or double faced corrugated board. A blank made of such material as shown in Fig. 6. The blank is divided into primary sections 44, 46 and 48 by fold lines 50 and 52, respectively, and section 48 is divided into sub-sections 53,

and 57 by fold lines 54 and 56 and cut out 58. Each of sections 44, 46 and 48 is provided near one lateral margin with an aperture dimensioned to permit the insertion of the fingers of a hand, the apertures being in alignment, and equally spaced from, the edge of the respective sections. Cut out 58 is of such shape that its margins, together with fold lines 54, define, when the blank is folded in the manner to be explained, a shoulder 22 of the desired contour.

The blank for a device of the form shown in Fig. 7 will be the same as that shown in Fig. 6, except that the cut out is omitted.

In forming the device, adhesive is applied to the upper faces of sections 44 and '46 and section 44 is folded over on the fold line 50 against section 46 (see Fig. 4). Adhesive is also applied to sub-section 53 and it is then folded on fold line 52 onto the double ply formed by sections 44 and 46. Sub-section 55 is then folded back onto subsection 53 with adhesive interposed between the two. The shingle elements are then applied, element 14 being adhesively secured to the lower area 18 of a double thickness of the material. The element is readily positioned by reason of the fact that its upper edge, a pointedhead in this embodiment, conforms to, or substantially conforms to the contour of the shoulder 22. The assembly at this stage is illustrated in Fig. 5. The upper element 16 is then adhesively secured to the upper area 20. Sub-section 57, defining flap 2.6, is folded over and adhesively secured to the upper margin of shingle element 16. As will be observed, during the folding operations, apertures 69 are brought into superposed positions so that, in the final device, handhole 39 extends through the several plies of material.

In both forms of the invention the shingle elements are firmly secured in position and in overlapping relationship, and are backed by solid parts of the folded material throughout substantially their entire areas. Due to the multiply construction the backing member is strong and relatively rigid. It is easily manufactured from conventional materials. The device provides a neat appearance and accurately simulates the appearance of a shingled construction. Portions of the backing member, including the extending portion 28, the outer face of the flap 26, and the rear face, may be suitably marked with advertising or other descriptive matter where found desirable.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to but that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a demonstration and display device for shingles or the like, a backing member folded from a single blank of sheet material and including a lower area with a shingle element secured thereto, and an upper area defined by folds of the sheet material with a shingle element secured thereto, said upper area lying in a plane elevated above the lower area a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the shingle element on the lower area and separated from the lower area by a shoulder having a contour similar to that of such shingle element, and a flap covering the upper edge of the shingle element on the upper area.

2. In a demonstration and display device for shingles or the like, a backing member folded from a single blank of sheet material and comprising a lower area of a double thickness of said sheet material, a shingle element secured to said lower area, an upper section of four thicknesses of said sheet material, and a shingle element secured thereto and overlapping the shingle element of the lower area, said upper area lying in a plane elevated above the lower area a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the shingle element on the lower area and separated from the lower area by a shoulder having a contour similar to that of such shingle element whereby said elements are supported in simulation of a shingled structure.

3. In a demonstration and display device for shingles or the like, a backing member folded from a single blank of sheet material and comprising a lower area of a double thickness of said sheet material, a shingle element secured to said lower area, an upper section of four thicknesses of said sheet material, a shingle element secured thereto and overlapping the shingle element on the lower area, said upper area lying in a plane elevated above the lower area a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the shingle element on the lower area and separated from the lower area by a shoulder having a contour similar to that of such shingle element whereby said elements are supported in simulation of a shingled structure, a fiap extending from the upper edge of said upper area and folded over the upper edge of the shingle element thereon, and a portion of said backing member extending beyond said flap and having a hand grip therein.

4. In a demonstration and display device for shingles or the like, a backing member folded from a single blank of sheet material and including a lower area with a shingle element secured thereto, and an upper area defined by folds of the sheet material with a shingle element secured thereto and partially overlapping the shingle on the lower area, said upper area lying in a plane elevated above the lower area a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the shingle element on the lower area and separated from the lower area by a shoulder having a contour similar to that of the upper edge of such shingle element.

5. In a demonstration and display device for shingles or the like, a backing member having a lower area of at least one thickness of sheet material providing a first top surface and a shingle element thereon simulating a lower course, and an upper area of greater thickness defined by a greater number of thicknesses of sheet material having a second top surface offset from and higher than said first top surface, and a shingle element on said second top surface simulating a next higher course and partially overlapping the shingle element simulating the lower course, said second top surface being elevated above said first top surface adistance approximately equal to the thickness of the shingle element thereon and separated from said first top surface by a shoulder against which the upper edge of the shingle element received on said first top surface abuts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 395,048 Goff Dec. 25, 1888 1,747,981 Marsh Feb. 18, 1930 1,752,246 Flier Mar. 25, 1930 2,020,782 Johnson Nov. 12, 1935 2,190,675 Patterson Feb. 20, 1940 2,339,044 Barrett Jan. 11, 1944 2,352,087 Ericson et al June 20, 1944 2,459,292 Sherbondy Jan. 18, 1949 2,563,634 Arey Aug. 7, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 379,424 Great Britain Sept. 1, 1932 

